This invention relates generally to aerosol-type spray cans which utilize a dispensing or spray tube. More specifically, the present invention relates to a support assembly for securing such a spray tube to an aerosol spray can.
Aerosol-type spray cans are in wide use today for dispensing many types of fluids ranging from paint to lubricants to insecticides to cleaning solutions. Spray cans generally incorporate a gas under pressure for ejecting the fluid contents of the can in the form of a spray through an upper discharge nozzle. While sometimes a broad spray pattern for the fluid contents is acceptable, often an accurate narrow spray pattern is necessary.
To assist with the application of some products which require accurate spraying, it has been known to provide a small bore tube, commonly of a flexible plastic material, which has one end inserted into the outlet of the aerosol valve so that the aerosol product may be applied through the tube. Such tubes have been fastened to the aerosol can for sale by way of adhesive tape or by a rubber band. When use is desired, the spray tube is removed from the container and one end of the spray tube is seated within a nozzle discharge port for in-line guided passage of the sprayed fluid to a specific location as a discrete, thin, liquid stream. After use, the spray tube is preferably removed from the spray nozzle unit and is reattached to the spray container for storage so that it is ready for subsequent use.
Unfortunately, in many instances, the spray tube is intentionally or negligently not reattached to the spray container. In some instances, reattachment becomes impossible due to the failure of the adhesive tape to stick to the container or a breaking of the rubber band previously used to hold the tube to the container. In other instances, it is necessary for the user to disconnect the tube so that the normal nozzle spray pattern can be utilized for large area surfaces to be treated. However, as the user will often simply place the tube on a work bench or some other surface, it frequently becomes lost. While it is possible to provide a flexible hose permanently connected to the discharge nozzle of a can, such a feature renders the spray can useless for conventional-type spraying operations wherein a very wide spray pattern may be desired.
It is also known that a retaining means can be molded into the upright side of a cap for an aerosol container so that the tube may be held in the retaining means when not in use. Such caps have to be of a diameter substantially as large as the diameter of the aerosol can so that the tube may be fixed in an upright position on the outer periphery of the cap and extend down the side of the can when packed. This arrangement has the disadvantage that a comparatively large amount of plastic material must be utilized for the cap, which needs to be of the same diameter as the can itself. That is uneconomical.
It is advantageous to use smaller caps to engage an upstanding flange surrounding the aerosol spray nozzle in order to reduce the amount of plastic material required. However, such caps are not suitable for the mounting of a dispensing tube. In addition, since the dispensing tube is not securely attached to the spray container, it can still be lost or misplaced after it is disconnected from the spray nozzle and before it is secured to the cap. For example, if the spray can is used for wide area spraying, after narrow area spraying, obviously the cap will not be placed back on the spray container until after such use. In the meanwhile, the spray tube may be misplaced so that when the cap is reattached, the tube is missing.
It is also known to provide an aerosol cap with a transverse groove in its top surface for retaining a dispensing tube therein. However, the length of such a dispensing tube is normally not much greater than the diameter of the cap. The dispensing tube is therefore considerably shorter than the relatively long dispensing tube that is normally necessary for access to a hard to reach area during a spraying operation.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved spray tube support assembly which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.